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Abstract
Objective: There is increasing evidence that automatic mental processes play a role in problematic alcohol use. Although previous research has shown that alcohol consumption can prime alcohol-seeking behavior in animals and humans, little research has examined whether alcohol consumption activates automatic alcohol-related cognitions. The current study was designed to examine the effects of alcohol consumption on the activation of automatic alcohol motivation as measured by a reaction time task. Method: Eighty-five at-risk drinkers participated in the study, which began with a baseline measure of automatic alcohol motivation, after which participants completed a taste-test in which they could consume as much beer as they liked for 10 minutes. Following an absorption period, participants completed the measure of automatic alcohol motivation for a second time. Results: A partial correlation analysis indicated that amount of alcohol consumed predicted stronger automatic alcohol motivation when controlling for the baseline level of automatic alcohol motivation. Conclusion: The findings suggest that alcohol consumption may prime the automatic mental processes that have been shown to contribute to problematic alcohol use.
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Notes
1Participants were given reasons not to drink and were involved in an additional manipulation designed to deplete self-control; this manipulation did not moderate the relation between beer consumed and pre- to posttest differences in IAT scores.